Another one bites the dust!

Sunday 26 May 2013 - Well we are not yet half way through the year and we have had yet more life changing news that we are going to have to deal with. Last week my husband was advised that he is to be made redundant at the end of June 2013. I was made redundant 18 months ago so now neither of us will have a proper job. Today we had a bbq with some family members, there were 8 of us all together and out of that 8 only one person is a tax payer! 2 are retired, 3 have been made redundant, one is on long term sick and will never work again, one is not earning enough to pay tax despite having a full time job and one is actually paying tax. I guess we should be worried however I think we will look at this as an opportunity to make some changes to our lives and perhaps fit in more of the things we would like to do rather than worrying about the things we should be doing. Non of us know what is around the corner and I think at times you do have to ask yourself what it is you want out of life, it is after all shorter than you think........................

Is exercise good for you when you are over 50!

Saturday 18th May 2013 - I have just posted a log on my running blog and thought I would have a look at what the advise is on taking up running when you are over 50. Most people will tell you that "they cannot run" and  "it would be bad for their joints". Well if you have never run or not run for a while it will take time to build up your time and distance. It will also be affected by how fit you are and how fat you are. I have always said I could not run (couldn't do it at school) but with a little help and encouragement from friends I started to run and I am about to take part in a half marathon.

I became very unfit and fat in my 40's and when I realised I needed to  do something about it I had to look at what exercise to do and I started with swimming and Tia Chi as these fitted in with my life at the time. I have lost weight (but still need to loose a stone)  and feel a lot better for the exercise I do it certainly helps with the "sad moods" as you get that feel good factor. I try and exercise about 5 days out of 7 and as well as running I go to yoga, go walking, swimming or just go on my exercise cycle for 30 minutes. I don't go to the gym as for me they are to expensive and I like being out in the fresh air (not in the rain though).

Why not give exercising a go what have you got to loose. Be practical about what you take up, take advise from the experts if you are unsure and have fun fun fun.

Having fun at 50

I think that a generation ago things were very different for those who reached their 50s, people very often went from being parents to becoming grandparents on reaching 50 but now that couples are choosing to have families later on in life there is a little bit of time when you get to 50 that you have to yourselves. We have been "kid free" for the last few years and this has given us the opportunity to reflect on what we have done and what we would still like to do. It is also nice to be able to say "yes" when friends ask  you  to go to the pub instead of thinking who you have to pick up/drop off for what event.  I have started running and I am now a lot fitter and slimmer than I have been for years. I have time to got out to lunch with friends. We have thought about what travelling we still want to do so have been on safari in Africa and to Egypt and are now looking at where to go next.

At 50 you realise that life is much bigger than you every knew and you see that time has the ability to heal and what you think is really dreadful may sometimes turn out to be a blessing. I think you realise that you need to take every opportunity that is given to you and make the most of it. You can still let your inner child out but now you can put it down to age! You do not have to look old, feel old or act old you can still have fun.

Volunteering do you have any spare time

Having been unemployed for 18 months you tend to have a bit of spare time on your hands so I thought I would do some volunteering and give some of my time back to the community. Firstly I was surprised to find out that if you are seeking unemployment benefit then you are not allowed to carry out voluntary work as you are not actively seeking paid work and you may get your benefit stopped is it just me or does this seem ludicrous!!

Did you know that more females volunteer than males and it is mainly students or those over 50 who volunteer. Over 20 million people volunteer each year in England and they donate over 100 million hours of their time.

I used to do some volunteering work when the children were small and they used to come with me on fund raising events. They are now grown up and have themselves got involved in volunteering projects.  I now go into a local primary school to help with children's reading and I have just started helping out with the children's 100 word challenge project.  I would recommend anyone who has time on their hands to give some time back to your local community, it gives you a sense of worth and pride.
There is a volunteering week from the 1st to 7th June 2013perhaps you too have time on your hands and would like to give something back to your community give it a go what have you got to loose.